Talontale

Arik is a swean - a warrior adept of his clan - and on his way to become a man. His father was one of the greatest warriors, his elder sister is already a griph rider and Arik has inherited all the talent he needs to join their ranks. There's just one little snag.
He just can't bear harming anyone, not even beasts.
There is another way, of course. He could join the mairtans and train for becoming a craftsman instead. But the sacrifice involved in that is more than he's prepared to make.
There's a third way, too, which is beginning to look all the more likely. He could simply fail his test - to mount a griph while it tries to kill you - and all his problems would be over because he would be dead. That's also not much to his liking.
Leaving the clan would be another way. But he'd have to run so far before finding someplace where his clan isn't feared and hated for its fierce dominion over their land, controlling the only trade route past the great desert. That would just be another way of getting himself killed.
So what option is there but to harden himself, become the killer that the clan expects? Surely there is no other way? Or is there?

Cover image by Deligaris on Deviantart.